Mustang vs. Maverick: Buzz Bee Blaster Contender?

Six darts, six shells. Could this be Buzz Bee's contender to the highly-lauded Nerf Maverick Rev-6? Here's a preview of the upcoming Mustang 6 Shooter by Buzz Bee Toys.

The Nerf™ Maverick (under US$10.00 street price) is a 6-shot blaster. It is cocked by pulling the top gray slider back. Squeezing the trigger rotates the cylinder to align the dart with the barrel, and then the dart is released. Phoom! POP! Argh you got me you rassen-frassen I'll get you...! This compact, affordable and extremely handsome blaster (it looks like a sci-fi military prop, especially if custom painted silver and black with some antiquing) make it a favorite in office nerfing environments and close quarters combat (CQB). For many of us at my office it was a very cost-effective means to enter (or re-enter -- for some of us older kids) the world of Nerf.

It is also a modder's choice. Do an online search and there are various step-by-step instructions on taking the elaborate cylinder apart in order to increase air flow to the darts to achieve greater ranges.

Seeing the Mustang, I initially could not help but wonder if this is Buzz Bee's contender to Hasbro's champion.

The Mustang is one of various Buzz Bee products that uses shells, such as the Double Shot shotgun. Darts are pre-loaded by hand into plastic shells and then inserted into a cylinder. The shell approach has been Buzz Bee's attempt at imitating real guns a little more closely, yet making them "kiddie" looking before parent groups express concern (which is a disappointment for us old kids who are old enough to have kids of our own which in turn means we don't care for the kiddie look! But in defense of the kiddie look, we've all heard of the days during laser tag when guns were black and the barrels were not marked with orange to indicate the gun is a toy, and a rather large size kid playing laser tag was seen by the police and was shot and killed. Since that event, toy manufacturers have been trying to make toy guns safer.)

Interestingly, the Mustang imitates a revolver somewhat. The blaster is cocked by the top lever, and fired, and the cylinder presumably rotates for you. What's even more noteworthy is that the shell is ejected through the side automatically.

While I think this level of mechanical design is praiseworthy, what immediately disqualifies the Mustang as a serious Nerf war contender is the use of shells. Shells add an unnecessary extra step. I've heard some say that the way around this is to keep a bunch of pre-loaded shells in your pocket. However, try to find extra shells at Toys 'R Us and you'll get my point (no pun intended... no, wait: pun definitely intended here!)

Also, the foam darts are entirely dependent on shells, so read: no shells, no firing. The shells are interesting in that air goes through a tiny hole and meets with a stem that reduces air flow and air pressure. Modders would attack this first, but given their construction I can only envision this being done with a Dremmel tool and a very fine bit to drill into the hole and to bore away that stem.

Modders might be able to come up with a solution for shells as they have for foam darts (using caulking foam and what-not available at many hardware stores). I've noticed that Elmer's School Glue Stick containers are the same diameter and can be resized to match the length. The bore diameter is much too wide, however, but the base of the shell has an unrestricted hole that would be perfect for a dart. You'd have to somehow pad the interior with something. Also, there are four lengthwise 1mm thick guides that keep the glue stick from leaning into the interior wall. If you can saw those out (good luck) it could take a Krazy Glue container for a barrel.

But this might not work if the chambers are a specific shape for the shell. You'd have to play around with the glue stick shells. (Incidentally, without modification, a dart in an empty Elmer's shell doesn't fire in a Double Shot.)

I also imagine that modders might try to make this fire without need of shells. One idea is to remove the bottom of the shells and to Krazy glue them into the chambers of the cylinder. Extra modification would need to take place as now there is a big hole to the dart, and so air pressure can go anywhere except the dart, possibly giving you the same challenge as before. Is this degree of modification worth it to bring the Mustang up to the convenience of a Maverick? You decide. If you succeed, you could make the Mustang compatable with Nerf (Hasbro) darts. However, I've found that the shells do take Nerf darts.

In Nerf wars, it is typical for people to pick up ammo from the floor (or ground), shove it into their blasters, and return fire. In CQB at the office I've often found that while I'm ducking for cover, I'm reloading. Action is fast around here, and returning fire at the right time is critical from getting "owned" by Walter the big slow nerd who's surprisingly fast once you put a Maverick in his hands.... So imagine using the Mustang: you have to pick up each shell the Mustang ejects when a round is fired. Then stuff it into your pocket. Then duck for cover, then reach into your pocket. No, those are your car keys. No that's still not the shell. No that's... a foam dart. Wait, that's it. Then pull the shell out, then find a foam dart again, stuff it in, then shove the shell into the receiver, and do this for as many times necessary before returning fire.

Very inefficient, if you ask me.

However, if you're not doing CQB but doing some kind of target practice and you're firing at something that stays still, then sure, this would be fun. Also, if everyone you're playing with has the same gun, again it's great, and this especially true with parents playing with their kids. They say that the gun is the great equalizer. Nerf guns aren't. What has great range may absolutely suck in a foam firefight with others.

Can it be modified aesthetically? The orange barrel and front site can potentially be ground off. Immediately beneath it is a yellow projection that hopefully has no metal within it (and whatever metal roundbar that is affixed to the cylinder doesn't go into this, making it saw-off-able).

In conclusion, this has potential if modified. Unmodified you are severely limited in an uneven playing field but okay if all things are equal. Round-for-round, a logical and closer equivalent to the Nerf Maverick is actually the Buzz Bee Tek 6 which, at the time of this writing, has not yet received a facelift and is therefore still clumpy and kludgy looking. Personally, I'm curious about the shell ejection mechanism, and I'd buy it for the sake of curiosity. I purchased a Double Shot for the same purpose, but I wouldn't change my "Top 3 for CQB" juet yet.